Amy's News

Turning point for couple’s two Amys

Seated in the living room of their 1870s farmhouse, Andy and Rachel Berliner laugh easily when looking back on 23 years of business successes and a few mistakes at Amy's Kitchen, their Petaluma-based maker of natural, convenience foods.

Dressed in jeans and unhurried in their recollections, the couple strike a more earnest tone when discussing the link between the company and its namesake, their only child, Amy.

“One of my motivations during the hard times, and there were hard times, was to leave the opportunity for Amy if she wants to carry on the business,” said Andy Berliner. “So my goal was always to hang in there long enough at least to where she was able to make a firm decision about what she wants to do in life.”

Those who know them say that, for the Berliners, it isn't about the money.

Andy Berliner, 64, a Chicago native, came to Sonoma County in the early 1970s, saying he'd always wanted to live on a farm. Later on a meditation retreat in India he met Rachel, 57, who grew up in Southern California. The couple married in 1985.

Together they have built one of Sonoma County's largest locally owned companies — with sales of vegetarian frozen entrees, canned soups and other products this year expected to top $300 million.

Plenty of large companies have tried to buy Amy's Kitchen and its processing plants in Santa Rosa and near Medford, Ore. But the Berliners refuse to sell. They see themselves as caretakers of a business for people seeking a different kind of prepared foods. Their values and their fingerprints are everywhere at Amy's Kitchen.

Facts

COMPANY MILESTONES

1987: Amy Berliner is born to Rachel and Andy Berliner.
1988: The Berliners found Amy's Kitchen.
1994: The company moves to a new plant in Santa Rosa.
1996: Sales reach $14 million.
1998: Annual sales grow 80 percent, prompted by major chains stocking Amy's foods.
2001: Sales reach $71 million. The company employs nearly 700.
2006: Amy's opens a second plant near Medford, Ore.
2009: Amy's moves its headquarters to Petaluma.
2011: A small plant opens in Corby, England. The company announces plans for a $63 million plant in Greenville, S.C.
Amy Berliner this summer will join the company in England.
2011 Sales: Projected to top $300 million.
Employees: 1,800.

Your Comments

Dear Amy,We have written you in the past to let you know how much we enjoy your foods. We recently tried your pizzas and must say that they are fabulous! Much better than the ones offered in any pizza parlors we have found here in Florida. Keep up the good work and keep on cooking!
From Jacquelyn Solomon

Your Comments

Dear Amy,

Just ate one of Amy's new breakfast/ tofu vegies and hashbrowns. Was delicious. !!!! Happy to see that item added to your product line. Will now try the other breakfast. Bought both on sale yesterday at Whole Foods. Will go back and get some more before the sale finishes !!!